Federal Govt Set to Revise Solar Net Metering Policy, Introducing Two Bill System

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan is facing difficulties after the large-scale installation of solar panels in the country after the prices were reduced in the past few months.

Sources privy to the development said that the bureaucracy termed solarization as disastrous for the existing power sector of the country suggesting a change in the billing process for domestic solar consumers.

Amid the increase in solar panel users, bureaucracy has proposed to fix bills in terms of net metering instead of units and consumers will be charged higher rates, sources said.

Bills will be adjusted according to the solar energy rates fixed by the government.

New billing policy for solar net metering users

Two separate bills will be issued to the net metering users. The first will be from imported electricity rates and the second bill on the export rate which will be determined by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

Furthermore, sources said that the proposal given by the bureaucracy has faced stiff opposition from politicians.

Taking notice, Federal Energy Minister Awais Leghari ordered an investigation into the leak of aforementioned information related to solarization in the media.

Apart from that, Distribution companies (DISCOs) said that the transformers are under load due to the flow of supply from the domestic solar system. Investment is required to replace with larger capacity transformers, DISCOs officials said.

Last week, a report emerged claiming that the federal government has decided to end the current net metering system in Pakistan and will impose fixed monthly charges.

The government will impose monthly fixed charges on consumers installing solar systems, the media reports said.

However, the Power Divison in an official statement denied reports circulating about the government’s plan to end the Net Metering Policy. “There is no truth in the news regarding the end of the net metering policy and imposition of monthly fixed charges,” Power Division said.

But separate insider reports revealed a different story suggesting the government’s plan for a Net Metering Tariff Rationalization. For that, the Power division will move a summary after considering several points.

According to the document available with Daily Ausaf, the federal government is considering conversion of the existing net metering regime to gross billing (separate rates for import and export of units), creation of a separate tariff category, inclusion or otherwise of fixed charges, revision of buyback rates, and amendment of Net metering regulations, and a dynamic formula to determine a reasonable pay-back period.